Zayandeh Rud
Encyclopedia
Zāyandé-Rūd or Zāyanderūd , also spelled as Zayandeh-Rood or Zayanderood, is the largest river on the central plateau of Iran
, Isfahan Province.
The Zayandeh starts in the Zagros Mountains
and flows 400 kilometres (248.5 mi) eastward before ending in the Gavkhouni
swamp, a seasonal salt lake, southeast of Esfahan city. The Zayandeh has significant flow all year long, unlike many of Iran's rivers which are seasonal. The Zayandeh is spanned by many historical Safavid era bridges, and flows through many parks.
The Zayandeh River basin has an area of 41500 square kilometres (16,023.2 sq mi), altitude from 3974 metres (13,038 ft) to 1466 metres (4,810 ft), an average rain fall of 130 millimetres (5 in) and a monthly average temperature of 3 °C (37 °F) to 29 °C (84 °F). There are 2700 square kilometres (1,042.5 sq mi) of irrigated land in the Zayandeh River basin, with water derived from the nine main hydraulic units of the Zayandeh River, wells, qanat
and springs
in lateral valleys. Zayandeh River water gives life to the people of central Iran mainly in Isfahan and Yazd
provinces. Water diverted per person is 240 litres (63 US gallons/53 imp gallons
) per day in urban and 150 litres (40 US gallons/33 imp gallons) per day in villages. The flow of the river has been estimated at 1.2 cubic kilometre (0.287895310325144 cu mi) per annum, or 38 cubic metres (1,342 cu ft) per second.
near Dizicheh at SW of Esfahan. More than 40,000 years ago, groups of Paleolithic hunters (Neanderthals) used Qaleh Bozi caves as shelter for seasonal or temporary occupations and left their stone tools and bones of hunted animals.
An ancient prehistoric culture, the Zayandeh River Civilization, flourished along the banks of the Zayandeh in the 6th Millennium BC.
Zayandeh River crosses the city of Esfahan, a major cultural and economic center of Iran
. In the 17th century, Shaikh Bahai (an influential scholar and adviser to the Safavid dynasty
), designed and built a system of canals (maadi), to distribute Zayandeh water to Esfahan's suburbs. Water from the Zayandeh River helped the growth of the population and the economy, helped established Esfahan as an influential center, and gave a green landscape to Esfahan, a city in the middle of a desert.
Arthur Pope
(an American archaeologist and historian of Persian art) and his wife Phyllis Ackerman are buried in a small tomb in pleasant surroundings in its banks. Richard Frye (an American scholar of Iranian and Central Asian Studies) has also requested to be buried there.
For centuries Esfahan city had been an oasis settlement, noted for its surrounding fertile lands and prosperity. Until the 1960s industrial demand for water was minimal, which enabled the scarce water resources to be utilized primarily for agriculture. With a growing population within the basin, and rising standards of living particularly within the city, the pressure on water resources steadily increased until the division of water Tomar was no longer feasible. The creation of large steel works and other new industries demanded water.
The Chadegan
Reservoir dam
project in 1972 was a major hydroelectric project to help with stabilizing water flow and generate electricity. The dam was initially named Shah Abbas Dam after Shah Abbas I, the most influential king of the Safavid dynasty
, but it was changed to Zayandeh Dam after the Islamic revolution in 1979. Since 1972, the Chadegan Reservoir has helped prevent seasonal flooding of the Zayandeh River.
80% of the Zayandeh's extracted water is used for agriculture, 10% for human consumption (drinking and domestic needs of a population of 4.5 million), 7% for industry (like the Zobahan-e-Esfahan and Foolad Mobarekeh steel companies and Isfahan's petrochemical
, refinery and power plants) and 3% for other uses. There have been a number of tunnel projects (Koohrang
) to redirect water from the Karun
river (Iran's largest river that also starts in the Zagros Mountains), to the Zayandeh. These have helped provide water for the growing population and new industries in both Isfahan and Yazd
provinces.
, built in 5th century AD, is still in use as a pedestrian crossing in Sharestan village.
Bridges on Zayandeh River in City of Esfahan:
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, Isfahan Province.
The Zayandeh starts in the Zagros Mountains
Zagros Mountains
The Zagros Mountains are the largest mountain range in Iran and Iraq. With a total length of 1,500 km , from northwestern Iran, and roughly correlating with Iran's western border, the Zagros range spans the whole length of the western and southwestern Iranian plateau and ends at the Strait of...
and flows 400 kilometres (248.5 mi) eastward before ending in the Gavkhouni
Gavkhouni
Gavkhouni also written as Gavkhuni or Batlaq-e-Gavkhuni, located in central Iran, east of city of Esfahan, is the terminal basin of the Zayandeh River. Gavkhouni is a salt marsh with a salinity of 315‰ and an average depth of about 1 m. The salt marsh can dry up in summer...
swamp, a seasonal salt lake, southeast of Esfahan city. The Zayandeh has significant flow all year long, unlike many of Iran's rivers which are seasonal. The Zayandeh is spanned by many historical Safavid era bridges, and flows through many parks.
The Zayandeh River basin has an area of 41500 square kilometres (16,023.2 sq mi), altitude from 3974 metres (13,038 ft) to 1466 metres (4,810 ft), an average rain fall of 130 millimetres (5 in) and a monthly average temperature of 3 °C (37 °F) to 29 °C (84 °F). There are 2700 square kilometres (1,042.5 sq mi) of irrigated land in the Zayandeh River basin, with water derived from the nine main hydraulic units of the Zayandeh River, wells, qanat
Qanat
A qanāt is a water management system used to provide a reliable supply of water for human settlements and irrigation in hot, arid and semi-arid climates...
and springs
Spring (hydrosphere)
A spring—also known as a rising or resurgence—is a component of the hydrosphere. Specifically, it is any natural situation where water flows to the surface of the earth from underground...
in lateral valleys. Zayandeh River water gives life to the people of central Iran mainly in Isfahan and Yazd
Yazd
Yazd is the capital of Yazd Province in Iran, and a centre of Zoroastrian culture. The city is located some 175 miles southeast of Isfahan. At the 2006 census, the population was 423,006, in 114,716 families....
provinces. Water diverted per person is 240 litres (63 US gallons/53 imp gallons
Imperial unit
The system of imperial units or the imperial system is the system of units first defined in the British Weights and Measures Act of 1824, which was later refined and reduced. The system came into official use across the British Empire...
) per day in urban and 150 litres (40 US gallons/33 imp gallons) per day in villages. The flow of the river has been estimated at 1.2 cubic kilometre (0.287895310325144 cu mi) per annum, or 38 cubic metres (1,342 cu ft) per second.
History
People have lived on the banks of Zayandeh River for thousands of years. The earliest evidence of human occupation along the River is found in a cave site called Qaleh BoziQaleh Bozi
Qaleh Bozi is a complex of caves sites located about 25 km south-southwest of Isfahan, Iran; northeast of Dizicheh and north of Nekouabad and Hassanabad villages. The sites include two rockshelters and a cave located at altitudes between 1750 to 1810 m above sea level at 32° 24' N 51° 33' E...
near Dizicheh at SW of Esfahan. More than 40,000 years ago, groups of Paleolithic hunters (Neanderthals) used Qaleh Bozi caves as shelter for seasonal or temporary occupations and left their stone tools and bones of hunted animals.
An ancient prehistoric culture, the Zayandeh River Civilization, flourished along the banks of the Zayandeh in the 6th Millennium BC.
Zayandeh River crosses the city of Esfahan, a major cultural and economic center of Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
. In the 17th century, Shaikh Bahai (an influential scholar and adviser to the Safavid dynasty
Safavid dynasty
The Safavid dynasty was one of the most significant ruling dynasties of Iran. They ruled one of the greatest Persian empires since the Muslim conquest of Persia and established the Twelver school of Shi'a Islam as the official religion of their empire, marking one of the most important turning...
), designed and built a system of canals (maadi), to distribute Zayandeh water to Esfahan's suburbs. Water from the Zayandeh River helped the growth of the population and the economy, helped established Esfahan as an influential center, and gave a green landscape to Esfahan, a city in the middle of a desert.
Arthur Pope
Arthur Pope
Arthur Upham Pope , was an American archaeologist and historian of Persian art.Born in Phenix, Rhode Island, graduated from Worcester Academy in 1899, and taught at Amherst College and the University of California. He married fellow Persian art historian, Phyllis Ackerman, in 1920. In 1923, Pope...
(an American archaeologist and historian of Persian art) and his wife Phyllis Ackerman are buried in a small tomb in pleasant surroundings in its banks. Richard Frye (an American scholar of Iranian and Central Asian Studies) has also requested to be buried there.
Water use and division
Until the 1960s in Isfahan Province the distribution of water followed the Tomar, a document claimed to date from the 16th Century. The Tomar divided the flow of the Zayandeh River into 33 parts which were then specifically allotted to the eight major districts within the region. At the district level the water flow was divided either on a time basis, or by the use of variable weirs, so that the proportion could be maintained regardless of the height of the flow.For centuries Esfahan city had been an oasis settlement, noted for its surrounding fertile lands and prosperity. Until the 1960s industrial demand for water was minimal, which enabled the scarce water resources to be utilized primarily for agriculture. With a growing population within the basin, and rising standards of living particularly within the city, the pressure on water resources steadily increased until the division of water Tomar was no longer feasible. The creation of large steel works and other new industries demanded water.
The Chadegan
Chadegan
Chadegan is a city in and the capital of Chadegan County, in western Isfahan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 7,037, in 1,872 families.-Dam and reservoir:...
Reservoir dam
Dam
A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...
project in 1972 was a major hydroelectric project to help with stabilizing water flow and generate electricity. The dam was initially named Shah Abbas Dam after Shah Abbas I, the most influential king of the Safavid dynasty
Safavid dynasty
The Safavid dynasty was one of the most significant ruling dynasties of Iran. They ruled one of the greatest Persian empires since the Muslim conquest of Persia and established the Twelver school of Shi'a Islam as the official religion of their empire, marking one of the most important turning...
, but it was changed to Zayandeh Dam after the Islamic revolution in 1979. Since 1972, the Chadegan Reservoir has helped prevent seasonal flooding of the Zayandeh River.
80% of the Zayandeh's extracted water is used for agriculture, 10% for human consumption (drinking and domestic needs of a population of 4.5 million), 7% for industry (like the Zobahan-e-Esfahan and Foolad Mobarekeh steel companies and Isfahan's petrochemical
Petrochemical
Petrochemicals are chemical products derived from petroleum. Some chemical compounds made from petroleum are also obtained from other fossil fuels, such as coal or natural gas, or renewable sources such as corn or sugar cane....
, refinery and power plants) and 3% for other uses. There have been a number of tunnel projects (Koohrang
Koohrang
Kuhrang also known as Koohrang is the name of a river, originating in the Zagros mountains of western Iran, which joins the Dez River to form the Karun, Iran's largest river...
) to redirect water from the Karun
Karun
The Kārun is Iran's most effluent, and the only navigable, river. It is 450 miles long. It rises in the Zard Kuh mountains of the Bakhtiari district in the Zagros Range, receiving many tributaries, such as the Dez and the Kuhrang, before passing through the capital of the Khuzestan Province of...
river (Iran's largest river that also starts in the Zagros Mountains), to the Zayandeh. These have helped provide water for the growing population and new industries in both Isfahan and Yazd
Yazd
Yazd is the capital of Yazd Province in Iran, and a centre of Zoroastrian culture. The city is located some 175 miles southeast of Isfahan. At the 2006 census, the population was 423,006, in 114,716 families....
provinces.
Bridges
There are several new and old bridges (pol) over the Zayandeh River. The oldest, ShahrestanShahrestan
Shahrestan or Shahristan may refer to:*Counties of Iran*Shahristan District*Shahrestan, Afghanistan...
, built in 5th century AD, is still in use as a pedestrian crossing in Sharestan village.
Bridges on Zayandeh River in City of Esfahan:
|
Joui Bridge Joui Bridge , also called the Choobi Bridge, is a bridge in Isfahan, Iran. It is one of Isfahan's oldest bridges and was built in 1665, during the Safavid era.... Built in 17th century (pedestrian) Khaju Bridge Khaju Bridge is arguably the finest bridge in the province of Isfahan, Iran. It was built by the Persian Safavid king, Shah Abbas II around 1650 C.E., on the foundations of an older bridge. Serving as both a bridge, and a dam , it links the Khaju quarter on the north bank with the Zoroastrian... Built in 1650 (pedestrian) Shahrestan bridge Shahrestan bridge near Isfahan is one of the oldest surviving bridges in Iran, built in the 14th Century . It crosses the Zayanderood River at the village of Sharestan.-External links:* - with photo* -See also:* Bridges over the Zayandeh River... Built in 11th century (foundations back to 5th century AD) (pedestrian) |